This invention relates to vacuum cleaners in general, and, in particular, to canister-type vacuum cleaners having a vacuum cleaner housing and a turnable handle with a grip portion, wherein the handle is secured to the vacuum cleaner housing in such a manner that the turning axis of the handle is mainly horizontal and perpendicular to the direction of movement when the vacuum cleaner is in its working position on a horizontal surface.
Handles of the above type, see DE-A1-19703014, are used on so called wet cleaners i.e. vacuum cleaners which in a first step spray a cleaning liquid on a surface and in a second step remove the liquid from the surface. The liquid is distributed to and collected in a tank that is placed below a separate housing enclosing the motor-fan unit. In order to make it possible to remove the housing from the tank, the handle, which normally is placed vertically and hence prevents the unit from being released, can be folded to a horizontal position. This means that the housing can be removed from the tank and the handle can again be brought to a vertical position in order to lift the tank and empty the liquid out of the tank. In order to safeguard that the vacuum cleaner or the tank does not tilt when it is lifted by means of the handle, the vacuum cleaner is designed such that the turning axis of the handle is placed in the same vertical plane as the gravity point of the vacuum cleaner and the tank respectively and somewhat above it.
Handles on conventional canister cleaners, i.e. vacuum cleaners comprising a vacuum cleaner housing enclosing a vacuum source and a dust container and being provided with a hose and a tube shaft that is connected to a nozzle, are usually designed as a fixed part of the vacuum cleaner housing. Such a handle is usually placed above the gravity point of the vacuum cleaner when the vacuum cleaner is in its working position on the floor, or at the front part of the vacuum cleaner housing, i.e., at the end where the hose is connected to the vacuum cleaner housing. Positioning the handle above the gravity point is disadvantageous because the handle is placed near the floor such that the operator is forced to bend heavily in order to reach the handle. This positioning of the handle also means that the vacuum cleaner, which is often stored vertically at its rear part in a broom cupboard or the like, has to be turned to this position before it is inserted into the cupboard, which could be cumbersome for the operator. Positioning the handle at the front part of the vacuum cleaner has the same disadvantages as positioning the handle above the gravity point with regard to accessibility, but facilitates placing the vacuum cleaner vertically in the cupboard since the vacuum cleaner when being lifted by the handle automatically achieves this storing position. This position of the handle also means that the complete vacuum cleaner will come closer to the body of the operator, thereby making it easier to carry.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,023,838 shows a canister cleaner with a turnable handle. The handle, which has an elongated shape, is located on top of the vacuum cleaner and extends in the longitudinal direction of the vacuum cleaner. When the handle is grasped and the vacuum cleaner is lifted, the handle is mainly kept in its horizontal position, whereas the vacuum cleaner housing swings to an inclined position with respect to the vertical. This inclined position is defined by cooperating surfaces on the handle and the vacuum cleaner housing. It is, however, quite obvious that the handle falls back to its original position as soon as the vacuum cleaner is placed on a floor, which means that the operator has to bend down before reaching the handle. The handle does not facilitate storing the vacuum cleaner in a vertical position in a cupboard since the center of gravity is positioned on the wrong side of the contact surface between the vacuum cleaner and the surface when putting the vacuum cleaner on the surface.
The purpose of this invention is to eliminate the drawbacks mentioned above and to create a vacuum cleaner handle that is always easy to reach for the operator, and when the vacuum cleaner is lifted, causes a turning motion of the vacuum cleaner housing from its horizontal working position to a mainly vertical position in order to facilitate transportation and vertical storing of the vacuum cleaner. A further purpose of the invention is to create an arrangement making it simple to mount the handle to the vacuum cleaner housing.